It seems like just yesterday the players and owners were squabbling over labor issues. Now some NFL teams, including the Vikings, already have played half their regular season games. Where does the time go? Soon enough we’ll be talking about the playoffs. For now, here are this week’s top talkers:

• Is Brad Childress a viable candidate to be an NFL head coach in 2012? Well, we have a feeling what the (rather loud) answer would be from the vast majority of Vikings fans. But Dan Pompei from National Football Post put it out there a few days ago: "A few months ago, some people were predicting Childress would never be a head coach again. Front offices are starting to take a harder look at what Childress accomplished in Minnesota within the context of how the Vikings are performing now. It will be an upset if Childress isn’t a candidate for a head coaching job or two in the offseason."

• The NFC East has four teams going in very different directions. The Giants hold a two-game lead at 5-2 over the Cowboys, Redskins and Eagles, who are all 3-4. But the Giants barely beat Miami on Sunday, and their next two games are at New England and at San Francisco. The Redskins, meanwhile, are struggling mightily — particularly at quarterback. The Eagles suddenly are soaring again after throttling the Cowboys 34-7 on Sunday night and have to be considered legitimate threats again. Home games against Chicago and Arizona are next up for Philadelphia, meaning catching the Giants before their Nov. 20 showdown in New York is a possibility.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, are a mess. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan tried to take the fall Monday, but it was really a complete team effort. Fans are losing faith quickly; in a poll at dallasnews.com, 80 percent of voters said they expect the Cowboys will finish either third or fourth in the division.

• According to R.J. Bell of Pregame.com, the Packers have a 10 percent chance — in the eyes of Las Vegas — of going undefeated this season. They are favored by an average of almost nine points in their remaining nine games. There is no game in which they are an underdog. But according to that site they are only 3½-point favorites against the Chargers on Sunday.

• Tim Tebow was brutal Sunday, but Greg Couch from Fox Sports writes that he thinks Tebow had some help from Broncos coach John Fox. His reasoning? The game plan didn’t put Tebow in a position to succeed. Couch even goes so far as to bring up the word "sabotage," believing that Fox isn’t a fan of Tebow and wants the experiment to end/fail quickly. It’s an interesting theory, but we’ll also say this: Tebow’s terrible accuracy and odd delivery are his greatest hindrances. Fox, by the way, said Monday that Tebow will start again next weekend.